First planned under former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 2016, the dream of a cutting-edge cancer hospital providing free treatment to the poor in Islamabad is set to come true.
By Ahmer Kureishi
ISLAMABAD: The government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved the construction of a state-of-the-art cancer hospital in the federal capital at the cost of PKR 3.41 billion that will treat deserving patients for free, Independent Pakistan can report.
The project envisages the establishment of a 200-bed state-of-the-art hospital for indoor admission of various types of cancer patients. The division of the beds includes 75 beds for adult oncology, 25 beds for women oncology, 25 beds for ICU, 30 beds for private, and 20 beds for emergencies.
The hospital will be geared to diagnose and treat most kinds of cancers at an early stage, and likely a teaching facility attached to the Pakistan Institute of Medial Sciences (PIMS). this leading-edge cancer hospital will provide free treatment to cancer patients from low income backgrounds.
A cancer hospital at Islamabad was first proposed under former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 2016. In fact, a feasibility study was completed that year to set up a cancer hospital in the federal capital to provide comprehensive treatment for all types of cancer, and a PC-1 submitted to the Ministry of National Health Services.
The idea was mooted under former Prime Minister Imran Khan at once point, but continued to gather dust. After Shehbaz Sharif took over as the prime minister with the backing of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition, the project saw the light of day once more.
In the last week of January, the NHS forwarded the proposal to the Planning Commission. The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) approved the project in its meeting the other day with the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination as the its sponsoring agency.
The facility will initially cater to an estimated 7,000 patients a year. Over the next five to ten years, it will upscale its capacity to 16,000 patients every year. Funded through the PSDP, the project is planned to take two and a half years to complete. The current grant will go to the primary phase of the hospital’s construction, projected to take two and a half years.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
